Bucana

For a whole week we were on an alert status, ready to rush to Bucana anytime our contacts text for help. The monsoon season has come and along with it huge waves that threaten the homes along the sea. Though Davao City is blessed to be far from the typhoon path, its shorelines are not free from the dangers of the swelling Davao Gulf. On Wednesday (July 12), we received a text message from the Aquilan family (the community leaders) that much of the community, including their house and our center is already under water. Five houses have been washed away. Thankfully, no one was hurt. When we arrived at around 9am, many families living along the shore have started moving their belongings to neighbor’s houses and out of harm’s way. Even at mid-morning, the waves were still ferociously crashing against the stilt houses, totally rendering the seawall useless. The following day, Mang and Jerry (our strategy coordinator) went to Bucana at 4am and kept vigil with the people in anticipation of the need to evacuate. Thankfully, the waves were not as big and the tide not as high. Despite this, we cannot fully say that the community is 100% free from the crashing waves. However, we praise God that this year’s habagat (monsoon) isn’t as bad as five years ago when more than 30 houses were swallowed up by the sea. Please pray for the safety of the people in Bucana. The local government has already washed their hands of the responsibility to help the affected families as they had been warned in the past to move away from the shoreline and towards the inland. However, these people have nowhere to go.